The present invention relates to computer managed communication networks and particularly to computer controlled user interactive display terminals for graphically displaying portions of such networks including linked nodes and associated network objects.
The 1990""s decade has been marked by a societal technological revolution driven by the convergence of the data processing industry, the communications industry and the consumer electronics industry. This advance has been even further accelerated by the extensive consumer and business involvement in the internet over the past two years. As a result of these changes, it seems as if virtually all aspects of human endeavor in the industrialized world will potentially involve human-computer interfaces, and especially such interfaces to communication networks such as the internet. As a result of these profound changes, there is a need to make computer directed activities accessible to a substantial portion of the world""s population which, up to a year or two ago, was computer-illiterate, or at best computer indifferent. In order for the vast computer supported market places to continue and be commercially productive, it will be necessary for a large segment of computer indifferent consumers, workers and business people to be involved in computer interfaces. In addition because of the vast amount of information potentially available through networks such as the internet, there has been an increasing demand on the part of relatively sophisticated users for implementations which make display terminal access to the internet less cluttered and confusing and of course easier to use.
The present invention is directed to the problems of providing less cluttered and easier graphical display access to communication network nodes, objects associated with such nodes, as well as the attributes of such objects. In solution of such problems, it makes use of transient displays in which user selected attributes of such nodes and objects may be displayed.
In the past, transient displays have been used effectively in connection with user interactive graphical interfaces to computer functions which use interfaces utilizing icon arrays. For simplicity and ease of use, such icons may not have adjacent alphanumeric descriptors. However, in order to help new users to become familiar with the icon functions, some recent interface systems have been set up so that if the user via his mouse or otherwise controlled cursor hovers on or near an unmarked icon, there will appear a transient display of the icon descriptor.
The present invention relates to a computer managed communication network with user interactive access via a plurality of display terminals and including a plurality of network objects, each respectfully associated with one of a plurality of linked network nodes. The network includes means such as databases for storing data representing attributes of network objects. Means are provided for graphically displaying on at least one of said display terminals, at least a portion of said linked network nodes and associated objects. In addition, there is provided user interactive means for activating a transient display of a selected attribute of one of said displayed objects proximate to said object in combination with user interactive means for selecting the attribute to be transiently displayed. Preferably, the attribute is dynamically selected by user interactive means for activating the display of an attribute menu during the time of said transient display so that another attribute may be selected during said time.
It should be noted that the stored data representing the object attributes is not necessarily stored static data. The data storage means for providing the selected attribute may be dynamic i.e., the selected data attributes may be calculated when selected or it may be dynamically combined from several databases.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention, means are provided for displaying the selected attribute of said transient display in a portion of said display apart from said transient display and beyond the duration of said transient display. This additional display may be maintained until another transient display of an object is activated.
The system of the present invention may further include means for sorting said displayed network objects according to the value of a selected attribute whereby the said transient display may be activated for said displayed network objects in the order of said sort.